UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ______ to ______

Commission file number: 1-12672

AVALONBAY COMMUNITIES, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Maryland	77-0404318
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

4040 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1000

Arlington, Virginia 22203

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

(703) 329-6300

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code) 

__________________________________________________________________________

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol (s)		Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share		AVB	New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes  ý    No  o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes  o    No  ý

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. 

Yes  ý    No  o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Yes  ý    No  o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☒	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☐	Smaller reporting company	☐
		Emerging growth company	☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

Yes  ☐    No  ý

The aggregate market value of the registrant's Common Stock, par value $.01 per share, held by nonaffiliates of the registrant, as of June 30, 2023 was $26,794,136,352.

The number of shares of the registrant's Common Stock, par value $.01 per share, outstanding as of January 31, 2024 was 142,025,313.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of AvalonBay Communities, Inc.'s Proxy Statement for the 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, a definitive copy of which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the year end of the year covered by this Form 10-K, are incorporated by reference herein as portions of Part III of this Form 10-K.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

		PAGE
PART I
ITEM 1.	BUSINESS	1
ITEM 1A.	RISK FACTORS	9
ITEM 1B.	UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS	20
ITEM 1C.	CYBERSECURITY	20
ITEM 2.	PROPERTIES	22
ITEM 3.	LEGAL PROCEEDINGS	32
ITEM 4.	MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES	32
PART II
ITEM 5.	MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES	33
ITEM 6.	[RESERVED]	33
ITEM 7.	MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS	34
ITEM 7A.	QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK	51
ITEM 8.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA	51
ITEM 9.	CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE	52
ITEM 9A.	CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES	52
ITEM 9B.	OTHER INFORMATION	52
ITEM 9C.	DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS	52
PART III
ITEM 10.	DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE	53
ITEM 11.	EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION	53
ITEM 12.	SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS	53
ITEM 13.	CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE	54
ITEM 14.	PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES	54
PART IV
ITEM 15.	EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES	55
ITEM 16.	FORM 10-K SUMMARY	55
SIGNATURES		59

PART I

This Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our actual results could differ materially from those set forth in each forward-looking statement. Certain factors that might cause such a difference are discussed in this report, including in the section entitled “Forward-Looking Statements” included in this Form 10-K. You should also review Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for a discussion of various risks that could adversely affect us.

ITEM 1.    BUSINESS

General

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” which terms, unless the context otherwise requires, refer to AvalonBay Communities, Inc. together with its subsidiaries), is a Maryland corporation that has elected to be treated as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for federal income tax purposes. We develop, redevelop, acquire, own and operate multifamily apartment communities in New England, the New York/New Jersey metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in our expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado. We focus on leading metropolitan areas that we believe are generally characterized by growing employment in high wage sectors of the economy, higher cost of home ownership and a diverse and vibrant quality of life. We believe these market characteristics have offered, and will continue to offer, the opportunity for superior risk-adjusted returns over the long-term on apartment community investments relative to other markets that do not have these characteristics.

At January 31, 2024, we owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in:

•279 operating apartment communities containing 83,655 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 271 communities containing 81,408 apartment homes were consolidated for financial reporting purposes and eight communities containing 2,247 apartment homes were held by unconsolidated entities in which we hold an ownership interest.

•19 wholly-owned development apartment communities that are under construction or completed and in lease-up and are expected to contain an aggregate of 6,539 apartment homes when completed and one unconsolidated investment which holds an apartment community under development and is expected to contain 475 apartment homes when completed.

•Rights to develop an additional 30 communities that, if developed as expected, will contain 10,801 apartment homes.

We generally obtain ownership in an apartment community by developing a new community on either vacant land or land with improvements that we raze, or by acquiring an existing community. In selecting sites for development or acquisition, we favor locations that are near expanding employment centers and convenient to transportation, recreation areas, entertainment, shopping and dining.

Our principal financial goal is to increase long-term shareholder value through the development, redevelopment, acquisition, ownership, operation and asset management and, when appropriate, disposition of apartment communities in our markets. To help meet this goal, we regularly (i) monitor our investment allocation by geographic market and product type, (ii) develop, redevelop and acquire interests in apartment communities in our selected markets, (iii) efficiently operate our communities to maximize resident satisfaction and shareholder return, (iv) selectively sell apartment communities that no longer meet our long-term strategy or when opportunities are presented to realize a portion of the value created through our investment and redeploy the proceeds from those sales and (v) maintain a capital structure that we believe is aligned with our business risks and allows us to maintain continuous access to cost-effective capital. We also seek to generate additional shareholder value from investments in other real estate-related ventures, including through the Structured Investment Program (“SIP”), our platform to provide mezzanine loans or preferred equity to third-party multifamily developers in our existing regions. We undertake our development and redevelopment activities primarily through in-house development and redevelopment teams, and buy and dispose of assets through our in-house investments platform. We believe that our organizational structure, which includes dedicated development and operational teams, and strong culture are key differentiators. We pursue our development, redevelopment, investment and operating activities with the purpose of “Creating a Better Way to Live.”

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We seek to be a leading apartment company in select U.S. markets that are characterized by growing employment in high wage sectors of the economy, higher home prices and a diverse and vibrant quality of life. From an operating perspective, we seek to deliver seamless, personalized experiences for our residents on an efficient and effective basis by our resident-focused on-site associates that are supported by our centralized shared services operating organization and flexible technology platform that incorporates automation and artificial intelligence. We operate our apartment communities under four core brands:

•Avalon, our core “Avalon” brand, focuses on upscale apartment living and high end amenities and services;

•AVA targets customers in high energy, transit-served neighborhoods and generally feature smaller apartments, many of which are designed for roommate living, and a variety of active common spaces that encourage socialization;

•eaves by Avalon is targeted to the cost conscious, “value” segment primarily in suburban areas; and

•Kanso is designed to create an apartment living experience that offers simplicity without sacrifice at a more moderate price point, featuring high-quality apartment homes, limited-to-no community amenities and a low-touch, largely self- service operating model that leverages technology and smart access.

We believe that this branding differentiation allows us to target our product offerings to multiple customer groups and submarkets within our existing geographic footprint.

During the three years ended December 31, 2023, we:

•acquired 14 apartment communities, excluding unconsolidated investments;

•disposed of 22 apartment communities, excluding unconsolidated investments;

•realized our pro rata share of the gain from the sale of five communities owned by unconsolidated real estate entities; and

•completed the development of 21 apartment communities, including unconsolidated investments, and the redevelopment of two apartment communities.

A more detailed description of our unconsolidated real estate entities and the related investment activity can be found in Note 5, “Investments,” of the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this report and in Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

A further discussion of our development, redevelopment, disposition, acquisition, operating and property management and related strategies follows.

Development Strategy.    We select land for development and follow established procedures that we believe minimize both the cost and the risks of development. As one of the largest developers of multifamily rental apartment communities in our selected markets, we maintain regional offices to identify and support development opportunities through local market presence and access to local market information. In addition to our principal executive office in Arlington, Virginia, we also have regional offices, administrative offices or specialty offices, including offices that are in or near the following cities:

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•Austin, Texas;

•Bellevue, Washington;

•Boston, Massachusetts;

•Chapel Hill, North Carolina;

•Denver, Colorado;

•Fort Lauderdale, Florida;

•Irvine, California;

•Los Angeles, California;

•Melville, New York;

•New York, New York;

•San Antonio, Texas;

•San Francisco, California;

•San Jose, California;

•Shelton, Connecticut;

•Virginia Beach, Virginia; and

•Westfield, New Jersey.

After selecting a site for development, we usually negotiate for the right to acquire the site either through an option or a long-term conditional contract. Options and long-term conditional contracts generally allow us to acquire an interest in the site after the completion of entitlements and shortly before the start of construction, which reduces development-related risks and preserves capital. However, as a result of competitive market conditions for land suitable for development, we have sometimes acquired and held land prior to construction for extended periods while entitlements are obtained. When acquiring improved land with existing commercial uses prior to development, any rent received in excess of expenses from these operations, which we consider to be incidental, is accounted for as a reduction in our investment in the development pursuit and not as net income. Any expenses relating to these operations, in excess of any rents received, are recognized in net income. In addition, we have previously identified, and may again in the future identify, opportunities to increase value by expanding the density of certain existing operating communities. We have also participated, and may in the future participate, in master planned or other large multi-use developments where we commit to build infrastructure (such as roads) to be used by other participants or commit to act as construction manager or general contractor in building structures or spaces for third parties (such as unimproved ground floor commercial space, municipal garages or parks). Costs we incur in connection with these activities may be accounted for as additional invested capital in the community or we may earn fee income for providing these services. Particularly with large scale, urban in-fill developments, we may engage in significant environmental remediation efforts to prepare a site for construction. For further discussion of our Development Rights, refer to Item 2. “Properties” in this report.

We generally act as our own development manager, general contractor and construction manager directly (although we may use a wholly-owned subsidiary), and will elect to use a third-party developer or general contractor where we believe it is beneficial to do so, such as in our expansion regions where we may have limited resources or scale. We believe direct involvement in construction enables us to achieve higher construction quality, greater control over construction schedules and cost savings. Our development, property management and construction teams monitor construction progress to ensure quality workmanship and a smooth and timely transition into the leasing and operating phase.

Throughout this report, the term “development” is used to refer to the entire property development cycle, including pursuit of zoning approvals, procurement of architectural and engineering designs and the construction process. References to “construction” refer to the actual construction of the property, which is only one element of the development cycle.

Redevelopment Strategy.    When we undertake the redevelopment of a community, our goal is to renovate and/or rebuild an existing community so that our total investment is generally below replacement cost and the community is well positioned in the market to achieve attractive returns on our capital. In addition to large scale redevelopment where a community is classified as a redevelopment, we undertake smaller scale redevelopment activities related to the apartment interiors to enhance the resident experience at our operating communities. We have dedicated redevelopment teams and procedures that are intended to control both the cost and risks of redevelopment. Our redevelopment teams, which include redevelopment, construction and property management personnel, monitor redevelopment progress.

Throughout this report, the term “redevelopment” is used to refer to the entire redevelopment cycle, including planning and procurement of architectural and engineering designs, budgeting and actual renovation work. The actual renovation work is referred to as “reconstruction,” which is only one element of the redevelopment cycle.

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Disposition Strategy.    We sell assets that no longer meet our long-term strategy or when real estate market conditions are favorable, and we redeploy the proceeds from those sales to develop, redevelop and acquire communities and to rebalance our portfolio across or within geographic regions. This also allows us to realize a portion of the value created through our investments and provides additional liquidity by redeploying the net proceeds from our dispositions in lieu of raising that amount of capital externally. When we decide to sell a community, we generally solicit competing bids from unrelated parties for these individual assets and consider the sales price and other terms of each proposal.

As part of the Archstone Acquisition in 2013 (as defined in Item 1. “Business” in the Company's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 22, 2019), we acquired, and still own, 14 assets that had previously been contributed by third parties on a tax-deferred basis to an Archstone partnership in which the third parties received ownership interests. To protect the tax-deferred nature of the contribution, the third parties are entitled to cash payments if we trigger tax obligations to the third parties by selling, or failing to maintain sufficient levels of secured financing on, the contributed assets. Our tax protection payment obligations with respect to these assets don’t expire until the death of a third party who contributed ownership interests to the Archstone partnership. After review and investigation of Archstone’s tax and accounting records, we estimate that, had we sold or taken other triggering actions in 2023 with respect to all 14 assets, the aggregate amount of the tax protection payments that would have been triggered would have been approximately $44,100,000. At the present time, we do not intend to take actions that would cause us to be required to make tax protection payments with respect to any of these assets.

Acquisition Strategy.    Our core competencies in development and redevelopment discussed above allow us to be selective in the acquisitions we target. Acquisitions allow us to achieve rapid penetration into markets in which we desire an increased presence. Acquisitions (and dispositions) also help us achieve our desired product mix or rebalance our portfolio. While we are primarily focused on acquisitions in our expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado, we may pursue additional investments in our established regions based on market conditions.

Operating & Property Management Strategy. We seek to increase operating income through innovative, proactive property management that will result in higher revenue from communities while constraining operating expenses. Our principal strategies to maximize operating income include:

•focusing on associate engagement and resident satisfaction;

•employing an innovative and continually evolving operating model that combines effective onsite associates with the capabilities of our centralized shared services center, technology platform and digital offerings and various automation technologies;

•utilizing data science and our operating experience to optimize revenue from the portfolio, including making operating decisions that reduce customer acquisition, transaction and retention costs;

•staggering lease terms such that lease expirations are matched with seasonal demand; and

•delivering high occupancy with premium pricing for various customer segments.

Constraining growth in operating expenses is another way in which we seek to increase earnings growth. Growth in our portfolio and the resulting increase in revenue allows for fixed operating costs to be spread over a larger volume of revenue, thereby increasing operating margins. We constrain growth in operating expenses in a variety of ways, which include, but are not limited to, the following:

•purchase order controls, including acquiring goods and services from pre-approved vendors;

•national negotiated contracts and bulk purchases where possible;

•bidding third-party contracts on a volume basis;

•retaining residents through high levels of service, which reduces apartment turnover costs, marketing and vacant apartment utility costs;

•performing turnover work in-house or hiring third parties, generally considering the most cost-effective approach as well as expertise needed to perform the work;

•regular preventive maintenance to maximize resident safety and satisfaction and property and equipment life;

•centralization of lease renewal activity, as well as many community administration and support tasks at our shared service center;

•pursuing real estate tax appeals;

•installing high efficiency lighting and water fixtures, cogeneration systems and solar panels; and

•implementing technology for resident and prospect services such as package lockers and self-guided or virtual tours.

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On-site property management teams receive bonuses based largely upon the revenue, expense, Net Operating Income (“NOI”), prospect conversion, resident retention and customer service metrics produced at their respective communities. We use and continuously seek ways to improve technology applications to help manage our communities, believing that technology applications can improve the delivery and efficiency of our services and aid in the accurate collection of financial and resident data, which will enable us to maximize revenue and control costs through careful leasing decisions, maintenance decisions and financial management.

We generally manage the operation and leasing activity of our communities directly (although we may use a wholly-owned subsidiary) both for ourselves and the joint ventures and partnerships of which we are a member or a partner. From time to time, we may engage a third party to manage leasing and/or maintenance activity at one or more of our communities, including in our expansion regions where we may have limited resources or scale.

From time to time we also pursue or arrange ancillary services for our residents to provide additional revenue sources or increase resident satisfaction. We provide such non-customary services to residents or share in the revenue or income from such services through a taxable REIT subsidiary (“TRS”), which is a subsidiary that is treated as a “C corporation” subject to federal income taxes. See “Tax Matters” below.

Financing Strategy.    Our financing strategy is to maintain a capital structure that provides financial flexibility to help ensure we can select cost-effective capital market options that are well matched to our business risks. We estimate that our short-term liquidity needs will be met from cash on hand, borrowings under our $2,250,000,000 revolving variable rate unsecured credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) and our $500,000,000 unsecured commercial paper note program (the “Commercial Paper Program”), sales of current operating communities and/or issuance of additional debt or equity securities. A determination to engage in an equity or debt offering depends on a variety of factors such as general market and economic conditions, our short and long-term liquidity needs, the relative costs of debt and equity capital and growth opportunities. A summary of debt and equity activity for the last three years is reflected on our Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows of the Consolidated Financial Statements set forth in Item 8 of this report.

We have entered into, and may continue in the future to enter into, joint ventures (including limited liability companies or partnerships) through which we would develop and/or own an indirect economic interest of less than 100% of the community or communities owned directly by such joint ventures. Our decision to either hold an apartment community in fee simple or to have an indirect interest in the community through a joint venture is based on a variety of factors and considerations, including: (i) the economic and tax terms required by a seller of land or of a community; (ii) our desire to diversify our portfolio of communities by market, submarket and product type; (iii) our desire at times to preserve our capital resources to maintain liquidity or balance sheet strength; and (iv) our projection, in some circumstances, that we will achieve higher returns on our invested capital or reduce our risk if a joint venture vehicle is used. Investments in joint ventures are not limited to a specified percentage of our assets. Each joint venture agreement is individually negotiated, and our ability to operate and/or dispose of a community in our sole discretion may be limited to varying degrees depending on the terms of the joint venture agreement.

In addition, from time to time, we may offer shares of our equity securities, debt securities or options to purchase stock in exchange for property. We may also acquire properties in exchange for properties we currently own.

Other Strategies and Activities.    While we emphasize equity real estate investments in rental apartment communities, we have the ability to invest in other activities and to make non-equity investments, including the following:

•Structured Investment Program: while we generally invest in multifamily real estate through fee simple ownership or an equity investment in a joint venture, we operate an investment platform through which we provide mezzanine loans or preferred equity to third-party multifamily developers in our existing regions.

•Commercial space: we develop, own and lease commercial space at our communities when either (i) the highest and best use of the space is for commercial (e.g., street level in an urban area); (ii) we believe the commercial space will enhance the attractiveness of the community to residents; or (iii) some component of commercial space is required to obtain entitlements to build apartment homes.

•Property technology and environmentally focused companies and investment management funds: we have also invested, either through a wholly-owned TRS, or in an investment vehicle that has elected to be treated as a TRS, in companies (and in venture funds that invest in companies) that provide technology services to the real estate industry, and we have invested, through a TRS, in environmentally focused companies and investment management funds to further our sustainability efforts and learning.

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•For-sale real estate development: we may also develop a property in conjunction with another real estate company that will own and operate the commercial or for-sale residential components of a mixed-use building or project that we help develop. We may from time to time, through a TRS, develop real estate and hold it for sale upon completion if we believe that this will be the best use or disposition opportunity for the property.

We have not engaged in trading, underwriting or agency distribution or sale of securities of other issuers and do not intend to do so. At all times we intend to make investments in a manner so as to qualify as a REIT unless, because of circumstances or changes to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) (or the Treasury Regulations thereunder), our Board of Directors determines that it is no longer in our best interest to qualify as a REIT.

We conduct many of the administrative functions associated with our property operations (including billing, collections, and response to resident inquiries) through an internally operated shared services center, rather than having on-site associates conduct such activities. We believe this centralized platform allows our on-site associates to focus more on current and prospective resident services, while at the same time enabling us to reduce costs, mitigate risk and increase our availability and responsiveness to our residents. Since mid-2023, we have provided various back-office, financial administrative support services for a third party leveraging the economies of scale at our center to produce an additional revenue stream.

Tax Matters

We filed an election with our 1994 federal income tax return to be taxed as a REIT under the Code and intend to maintain our qualification as a REIT in the future. As a REIT, with limited exceptions, such as those described under “Property Management Strategy” above, we will not be taxed under federal and certain state income tax laws at the corporate level on our taxable net income to the extent such taxable net income is distributed to our stockholders. We expect to make sufficient distributions to avoid income tax at the corporate level. While we believe that we are organized and qualified as a REIT and we intend to operate in a manner that will allow us to continue to qualify as a REIT, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in this regard. Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex provisions of the Code for which there are limited judicial and administrative interpretations and involves the determination of a variety of factual matters and circumstances not entirely within our control.

Competition

We face competition from other real estate investors, including insurance companies, pension and investment funds, REITs both in the multifamily as well as other sectors, and other well capitalized investors, to acquire and develop apartment communities and acquire land for future development. As an owner and operator of apartment communities, we also face competition for prospective residents from other operators whose communities may be perceived to offer a better location or better amenities or whose pricing may be perceived as a better value given the quality, location, terms and amenities that the prospective resident seeks. We also compete against condominiums and single-family homes that are for sale or rent, including those offered through online platforms. Although we often compete against large, sophisticated developers and operators for development opportunities and for prospective residents, real estate developers and operators of any size can provide effective competition for both real estate assets and potential residents.

Regulatory Matters

Compliance with various governmental regulations has an impact on our business, including our capital expenditures, earnings and competitive position, which can be material. We incur costs to monitor and take actions to comply with governmental regulations that are applicable to our business, which include, among others, federal securities laws and regulations, applicable stock exchange requirements, REIT and other tax laws and regulations, environmental and health and safety laws and regulations, local zoning, usage and other regulations relating to real property, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and related laws and regulations.

Environmental Regulations. As a current or prior owner, operator and developer of real estate, we are subject to various federal, state and local environmental laws, regulations and ordinances and also could be liable to third parties resulting from environmental contamination or noncompliance at our communities. For some Development Communities, we undertake extensive environmental remediation to prepare the site for construction, which could be a significant portion of our total construction cost. Environmental remediation efforts could expose us to possible liabilities for accidents or improper handling of contaminated materials during construction.

Regulations Relating to the Construction, Operation and Leasing of Our Communities. The construction, operation and leasing of our communities is subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations, include zoning laws, building codes, requirements

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that our communities be accessible to persons with disabilities, fair housing laws, and, depending on the jurisdiction, regulations regarding the charging of rents and fees and increases in such amounts upon renewal of leases. Some laws relating to the setting of rents apply broadly, such as in California, where residential rent increases at renewal in communities older than fifteen years are limited to the lesser of 10% or 5% plus local consumer price index (CPI), and in New York, where laws regulate increases on those units that are subject to rent-control or rent-stabilization. In California, the Governor and local governments have the ability to enact (and have in recent years exercised such right, for example, in connection with wildfires) local or statewide states of emergency which limit our ability to increase new and renewal rents to no more than 10% over the rent in place on the date such state of emergency was declared, which has impacted some of our California communities. We have seen an increase in state and local governments in our markets implementing, considering or being urged by various constituencies to consider new or modified rent control regulations, rent stabilization, or other laws that may limit or delay our ability to charge market rents, increase rents, charge ancillary fees or evict tenants.

See Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for a discussion of material risks to us, including, to the extent material, to our competitive position, relating to governmental regulations, and see Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” together with the Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this report, for a discussion of material information relevant to an assessment of our financial condition and results of operations.

Human Capital

Attracting, motivating, developing, and retaining talented associates is important to our long-term success. We engage with our associates to understand our purpose, “Creating a Better Way to Live,” our core values (a commitment to integrity, a spirit of caring and a focus on continuous improvement) and our cultural norms (we collaborate, excel, innovate, act like owners, are thoughtful and thorough, show appreciation, and champion inclusion and diversity).

At January 31, 2024, we had 3,039 employees, of which approximately 98% were employed on a full-time basis. Approximately 65% of our associates work on-site at our operating communities and the balance work on other matters. None of our associates are represented by a union.

We consider the following aspects of human capital management to be important:

Diversity and Inclusion. We value workforce diversity and an inclusive culture. We believe that a diverse workplace will produce a variety of perspectives, motivate associates and help us understand and better serve our customers and the communities in which we do business. At January 31, 2024, 37% of our associates self-identified as White, 30% as Hispanic, 16% as Black, 6% as Asian, and 11% as other ethnicities, two or more ethnicities or did not respond. At January 31, 2024, 59% of our associates self-identified as male and 41% as female. We are committed to promoting and achieving greater workplace diversity and have undertaken active steps to further this goal, including by supporting associate resource groups.

Associate Engagement. We monitor the engagement of our associates, receive feedback from our associates, and benchmark our performance by having a third party firm conduct anonymous associate perspective surveys each year. The results are discussed and presented both on a company-wide basis and within each functional group.

Safety. We take workplace safety seriously at our construction sites, our operating communities and our offices. Through our Construction Site Safety Observation program and our dedicated safety team, we monitor project-level safety performance metrics at our construction sites, and elements of compensation for our construction group and our CEO are based on safety compliance performance. Our maintenance associates are required to take monthly safety training on a variety of subjects, and our risk management group monitors incident reports from our offices and communities.

Training. To help our associates develop the skills they need to advance in their careers and succeed at AvalonBay, we train them in a variety of ways, including providing job aids and quick reference guides, web-based courses and videos, in-person and virtual, instructor-led training and on-the-job learning. Our learning management system, AvalonBay University, offers approximately 700 courses providing functional, technical, management, ethics, compliance, cyber-awareness and safety training.

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Available Information

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may obtain copies of our SEC filings, free of charge, from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

We maintain a website at www.avalonbay.com. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, including exhibits and amendments to those reports, filed or furnished pursuant to the Exchange Act are available free of charge in the “Investor Relations” section of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after the reports are filed with or furnished to the SEC. In addition, the charters of our Board's Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee, Audit Committee and Compensation Committee, as well as our Director Independence Standards, Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Policy Regarding Shareholder Rights Agreements, Policy Regarding Shareholder Approval of Future Severance Agreements, Senior Officer Stock Ownership Guidelines, Policy on Political Contributions and Government Relations, Compensation Recovery Policy, AvalonBay Sanctions Compliance and Anti-Corruption Policy and Environmental, Social, and Governance Reports, are available free of charge in that section of our website or by writing to AvalonBay Communities, Inc., 4040 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1000, Arlington, Virginia 22203, Attention: Chief Financial Officer. To the extent required by the rules of the SEC and the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), we will disclose amendments and waivers relating to these documents in the same place on our website. The information posted on our website is not incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 1A.    RISK FACTORS

Our operations involve various risks that could have adverse consequences, including those described below. This Item 1A. includes forward-looking statements. You should refer to our discussion of the qualifications and limitations on forward-looking statements in this Form 10-K.

Risks related to investments through acquisitions, construction, development, and joint ventures

Development, redevelopment and construction risks could affect our profitability. We intend to continue to develop and redevelop apartment home communities. These activities can include long planning and entitlement timelines and can involve complex and costly activities, including significant environmental remediation or construction work in high-density urban areas. These activities may expose us to the following risks, among others:

•we have recently, and may in the future, abandon opportunities that we have already begun to explore for a number of reasons, including changes in local market conditions or increases in construction or financing costs or we may impair land held for development, and as a result, we may fail to recover expenses already incurred in exploring those opportunities;

•occupancy rates and rents at a community may fail to meet our original expectations for a number of reasons, including changes in market and economic conditions beyond our control and the development by competitors of competing communities;

•we may be unable to obtain, or experience delays in obtaining, necessary zoning, occupancy or other required governmental or third party permits and authorizations, which could result in increased costs, or the delay or abandonment of opportunities;

•we may incur costs that exceed our original estimates due to increased material, labor or other costs or supply chain disruptions which could impact our overall return from our development, redevelopment or construction activity;

•we may be unable to complete construction of a community on schedule or for the originally projected cost resulting in increased construction and financing costs;

•we may incur liabilities to third parties during the development process, for example, in connection with managing existing improvements on the site prior to tenant terminations and demolition (such as commercial space) or in connection with providing services to third parties (such as the construction of shared infrastructure or other improvements); and

•we may incur liability if our communities are not constructed in compliance with the accessibility provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Acts, the Fair Housing Act or other federal, state or local requirements. Noncompliance could result in imposition of fines, an award of damages to private litigants and a requirement that we undertake structural modifications to remedy the noncompliance.

Refer to our “Risks related to liquidity and financing” section below for additional construction and development risks related to financing.

Attractive investment opportunities may not be available, which could adversely affect our profitability. We expect that other real estate investors, including insurance companies, pension and investment funds, other REITs and other well-capitalized investors, will compete with us to acquire existing properties and to develop new properties. This competition could increase prices for properties of the type we would likely pursue and adversely affect our profitability for new investments.

Acquisitions may not yield anticipated results. Our business strategy of acquiring communities may have the following risks: (i) acquisitions may not perform as we expected; (ii) our estimate of the costs of operating, repositioning or redeveloping an acquisition may be inaccurate; and (iii) acquisitions may subject us to unknown liabilities.

Failure to succeed in new markets, or with new brands and community formats, or in activities other than the development, ownership and operation of residential rental communities may have adverse consequences. We have engaged, and may continue from time to time to engage in development, acquisition and operating activity outside of our pre-existing market areas. Our historical experience in our existing markets in developing, owning and operating rental communities does not ensure that we will be able to operate successfully in new markets. We may be exposed to a variety of risks when we enter a new market, including an inability to accurately evaluate local apartment market conditions and an inability to obtain land for development or to identify appropriate acquisition opportunities. In order to more rapidly expand in our new markets, we have relied on third party developers to source and manage developments and on third party general contractors to manage construction more than we have in our existing markets. Relying on third parties to assist with and/or oversee development and construction creates additional and different risks than when we manage these activities directly, including that the third party may not perform to our standards, may breach contractual arrangements, or may incur liquidity constraints.

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We also may engage or have an interest in for-sale activity, such as the sale of the residential condominiums at The Park Loggia, a mixed-use development located in New York, New York. We may be unsuccessful at developing real estate with the intent to sell or in selling condominiums at originally underwritten values, or at all, as a disposition strategy for an asset, which could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

During 2023, we began to provide, through our internally operated shared service center, various back-office, financial administrative support services to a third party for a fee, and we may in the future provide such services to other third parties. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in providing such services, and the provision of such services creates additional sources of risk and potential liability for us with respect to the professional commitments and service levels we undertake when providing such services.

We are exposed to risks associated with investment in technology and environmentally focused venture funds and companies. We have invested in, and may in the future invest in, venture funds that invest in companies seeking innovation through new processes and the application of technology to property operations, development, construction and energy management. We have also invested directly in, and may in the future invest directly in, companies that engage in these activities. While such investments give us a greater understanding of new and emerging technologies, such investments involve risks, including the possibility that our investments will decline substantially in value.

Our investments in technology companies, or in funds that invest in technology companies, are generally held through TRSs pursuant to which we will incur taxable gains upon the disposition of our interests. In addition, the value of these investments may be volatile and declines in value may impact our reported income even if we do not sell the investment.

We are exposed to risks associated with investment in, and management of, joint ventures. At times we invest directly and indirectly in real estate as a partner or a co-venturer with other investors. Joint venture investments (including investments through partnerships or limited liability companies) involve risks, including the possibility that our partner might become insolvent or otherwise refuse to make capital contributions when due; that we may be responsible to our partner for indemnifiable losses or the debt and obligations of an investment; that our investments may lose all or some of their value; that our partner might have business goals that are inconsistent with ours which may result in the venture or investment being unable to implement certain decisions that we consider beneficial; that our partner may be in a position to take action or withhold consent contrary to our instructions or requests; that, in cases where we are the general partner or managing member, our partners holding a majority of the equity interests may remove us from such role in certain cases involving cause; and that we may be liable and/or our status as a REIT may be jeopardized if either the investments, or the REIT entities associated with the investments, fail to comply with various tax or other regulatory matters. Frequently, we and our partner may each have the right to trigger a buy-sell or similar arrangement that could cause us to sell our interest, acquire our partner's interest or force a sale of the asset, which could occur at a time when we otherwise would not have initiated such a transaction or on terms that are not most advantageous to us.

Mezzanine debt and preferred equity investments could cause us to incur expenses, which could adversely affect our results of operations. We make mezzanine loans to borrowers and obtain preferred equity interests in projects owned by third party sponsors as part of our SIP. Some of these instruments may have some recourse to their borrower or sponsor, while others are limited to the collateral securing the loan or the right to remove the sponsor as manager of the venture in preferred equity investments. In the event of a default under these obligations, we may elect to take possession of the collateral securing these interests, or remove a sponsor from management of a preferred equity investment. Borrowers of mezzanine loans may contest our enforcement actions, including, foreclosure, assignment in lieu of foreclosure, or other remedies, and sponsors may contest our removal actions. In addition, borrowers and sponsors may seek bankruptcy protection against such enforcement and/or bring claims for lender liability in response to actions to enforce their obligations to us. Declines in the value of the underlying properties may prevent us from realizing an amount equal to our investment upon foreclosure or other remedies even if we make substantial improvements or repairs to maximize such properties' investment potential.

We cannot be certain that our estimate of future credit losses will be adequate over time because of unanticipated adverse changes in the economy or events adversely affecting specific properties, assets, tenants, borrowers, industries in which our tenants and borrowers operate or markets in which our tenants and borrowers or their properties are located. The ultimate resolutions may differ from our expectation, and we could suffer losses that would have a material adverse effect on our financial performance, the trading price of our securities and our ability to pay dividends and distributions.

We are exposed to risks associated with real estate assets that are subject to ground leases that may restrict our ability to finance, sell or otherwise transfer our interests in those assets, limit our use and expose us to loss if such agreements are breached by us or terminated. We own assets that are subject to long-term ground leases. These ground leases may impose

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limitations on our use or improvement of the properties, restrict our ability to finance, sell or otherwise transfer our interests or restrict the leasing of the properties. These restrictions may limit our ability to timely sell or exchange the properties, impair the properties’ value or negatively impact our ability to operate the properties. In addition, we could lose our interests in the properties if the ground leases are breached by us, terminated or lapse. As we get closer to the lease termination dates, the values of the properties could decrease if we are unable to agree upon an extension of the lease with the lessor. Certain of these ground leases have payments subject to annual escalations and/or periodic fair market value adjustments which could adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations.

Land we hold with no current intent to develop may be subject to future impairment charges. We own land parcels that we do not currently intend to develop. As discussed in Item 2. “Properties—Other Land and Real Estate Assets,” in the event that the fair market value, less the cost to dispose of a parcel, changes such that it is less than the carrying basis of the parcel, we would be subject to an impairment charge, which would reduce our net income.

Our various technology-related initiatives to improve our operating margins and customer experience may fail to perform as expected. We have developed and may continue to develop initiatives that are intended to serve our customers better and operate more efficiently, including “smart home” technology and self-service options that are accessible to residents through smart devices or otherwise. Such initiatives have involved and may involve our employees having new or different responsibilities and processes. We may incur significant costs and divert resources in connection with such initiatives, and these initiatives may not perform as expected, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Risks related to liquidity and financing

Capital and credit market conditions may adversely affect our access to various sources of capital and/or the cost of capital, which could impact our business activities, dividends, earnings and common stock price, among other things. In periods when the capital and credit markets experience significant volatility, the amounts, sources and cost of capital available to us may be adversely affected. We use external financing as one source of capital to fund construction and to refinance indebtedness as it matures. If sufficient sources of external financing are not available to us on cost-effective terms, we could be forced to limit our development and redevelopment activity and/or take other actions to fund our business activities and repayment of debt, such as selling assets, reducing our cash dividend or issuing equity or debt securities. If we are able and/or choose to access capital at a higher cost than we have experienced in recent years, our earnings per share and cash flows could be adversely affected. In addition, the price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly and/or decline in a high interest rate environment or a volatile economic environment, or if we dilute the interest of stockholders by issuing additional equity. Further, events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect the lenders under our Credit Facility, the dealers under our Commercial Paper Program, financial institutions where we have deposits, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, could result in losses or defaults by these institutions or counterparties or could lead to market-wide liquidity problems. Disruptions and uncertainty with respect to financial institutions, including as a result of recent bank failures and liquidity concerns, may negatively impact our ability to refinance existing indebtedness and access additional financing at reasonable terms or at all or may cause us or our transactional counterparties to be unable to complete transactions as intended, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Insufficient cash flow could affect our debt financing and create refinancing risk. We are subject to the risks associated with debt financing, including the risk that our available cash will be insufficient to meet required payments of principal and interest on our debt. For us to continue to qualify as a REIT, we are required to annually distribute dividends generally equal to at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, which limits the amount of our cash flow available to meet required principal and interest payments. The principal outstanding balance on a portion of our debt will not be fully amortized prior to its maturity. We cannot assure you that we will have sufficient cash flows available to make all required principal payments. Therefore, we expect that we will generally need to refinance at least a portion of our outstanding debt as it matures. There is a risk that we may not be able to refinance existing debt or that a refinancing will not be done on as favorable terms; either of these outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Rising interest rates could increase interest costs and could affect the market price of our common stock, and efforts to hedge such risk could be ineffective and cause us to incur additional costs. If interest rates increase, our interest costs on variable rate debt will rise unless we have hedged the risk of rising interest rates. In addition, an increase in market interest rates may lead purchasers of our common stock to demand a greater annual dividend yield, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

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We may use interest rate derivatives to manage our exposure to fluctuations in interest rates, such as by entering into interest rate contracts. For example, when we anticipate issuing debt securities, we may seek to limit our exposure to fluctuations in interest rates prior to debt issuance by entering into interest rate hedging contracts. Although these agreements may partially protect against rising interest rates, they also may reduce the benefits to us if interest rates decline. The interest rate derivatives we use, primarily to manage interest rate risk for our anticipated debt issuance activity, could result in a material charge to earnings if we do not issue the anticipated debt, or are otherwise unsuccessful in our hedging activities. In addition, our use of hedging arrangements may expose us to additional risks, including a risk that a counterparty to a hedging arrangement may default on the contract. There can be no assurance that our hedging activities will be effective reducing the risks associated with interest rate fluctuations.

Bond financing and zoning and other compliance requirements could limit our income, restrict the use of communities and cause favorable financing to become unavailable. We have financed some of our apartment communities with obligations issued by local government agencies because the interest paid to the holders of this debt is generally exempt from federal income taxes, which typically provides a more favorable interest rate for us. These obligations are commonly referred to as “tax-exempt bonds” and generally must be secured by mortgages on our communities. As a condition to obtaining (i) tax-exempt financing, (ii) favorable zoning or (iii) an agreement relating to property taxes in some jurisdictions, we will commit to make some of the apartments in a community available to households whose income does not exceed certain thresholds (e.g., 50% or 80% of area median income), or who meet other qualifying tests. As of December 31, 2023, 4.6% of our apartment homes at current operating communities were under income limitations such as these. These commitments, which may or may not expire, may limit our ability to raise rents, adversely affecting the value of communities subject to these restrictions. If we fail to observe these commitments, we could lose benefits (such as reduced property taxes) or face liabilities including liability for the benefits we received under tax exempt bonds, tax credits or agreements related to property taxes.

Our tax-exempt bonds may require us to obtain a guarantee from a financial institution of payment of the principal and interest on the bonds, such as a letter of credit, surety bond, guarantee agreement or other additional collateral. If the financial institution defaults in its guarantee obligations, or if we are unable to renew the applicable guarantee or otherwise post satisfactory collateral, a default will occur and the community could be foreclosed upon if we do not redeem the tax exempt bonds.

Risks related to indebtedness. We have a Credit Facility and Commercial Paper Program with a syndicate of commercial banks as well as secured and unsecured notes. Our organizational documents do not limit the amount or percentage of indebtedness that may be incurred. Accordingly, subject to compliance with outstanding debt covenants, we could incur more debt, resulting in an increased risk of default on our obligations and an increase in debt service requirements that could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The mortgages on properties that are subject to secured debt, our Credit Facility, Commercial Paper Program and the indentures under which a substantial portion of our debt was issued contain customary restrictions, requirements and other limitations, as well as certain financial and operating covenants including maintenance of certain financial ratios. Maintaining compliance with these restrictions could limit our flexibility. A default in these requirements, if uncured, could result in a requirement that we repay indebtedness, which could materially adversely affect our liquidity and increase our financing costs. Refer to Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for further discussion.

A substantial portion of our debt is subject to prepayment penalties or premiums that we will be obligated to pay in the event that we elect to prepay the debt prior to the earlier of (i) its stated maturity or (ii) another stated date. If we elect to prepay a significant amount of outstanding debt, our prepayment penalties or payments under these provisions could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

Failure to maintain our current credit ratings could adversely affect our cost of funds, related margins, liquidity and access to capital markets. There are two major debt rating agencies that routinely evaluate and rate our debt. Their ratings are based on a number of factors, which include their assessment of our financial strength, liquidity, capital structure, asset quality, amount of real estate under development, and sustainability of cash flow and earnings, among other factors. If market conditions change, we may not be able to maintain our current credit ratings, which could adversely affect our cost of funds and related margins, liquidity and access to capital markets.

The form, timing and/or amount of dividend distributions in future periods may vary and be impacted by our revenue generation, other liquidity needs and economic and other considerations. The form, timing and/or amount of dividend distributions will be declared at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on our rental revenue, actual cash from operations, our financial condition, capital requirements, the annual distribution requirements under the REIT provisions of the

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Code and other factors as the Board of Directors may consider relevant. The Board of Directors may modify our dividend policy from time to time.

We may experience barriers to selling apartment communities that could limit financial flexibility. Difficulties in selling real estate at prices we find acceptable in a timely manner may limit our ability to quickly change or reduce the apartment communities in our portfolio in response to changes in economic, regulatory, or other conditions. Federal tax laws may also limit our ability to sell properties when desired. See “Risks related to our REIT or tax status or reliance on various tax regulations” section for more information on federal tax law risks. In addition, the capitalization rates/disposition yields at which apartment communities may be sold could also be higher than historic rates, thereby reducing our potential proceeds from sale.

Increased scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, tenants and others regarding our environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) practices and reporting could impact our business practices, cause us to incur additional costs and expose us to new risks. ESG evaluations, including ESG scores and ratings, are important to some investors and other stakeholders and may impact the price of our securities and business practices. Investors may focus on, and consider a company's ESG-related business practices, scores and reporting when choosing to allocate their capital in making investment decisions, including if they invest in our securities. This has included or may in the future include expanding mandatory and voluntary reporting, diligence, and disclosure on topics such as climate change, human capital, labor and risk oversight, and could expand the nature, scope, and complexity of matters that we are required to control, assess and report, which may prove difficult, expensive and time consuming. In addition, the adoption of increased government regulations and changes in investor preference related to ESG and similar matters may result in changes to our business practices, including increasing expenses or capital expenditures. We have communicated certain initiatives and goals regarding ESG matters and we may in the future communicate revised or additional initiatives or goals. If we fail to satisfy the expectations of investors, residents and other stakeholders, our initiatives are not executed as planned, or we do not satisfy our goals, our reputation and financial results could be adversely affected.

Risks related to operations of our communities

Laws, regulations and orders imposing rent control or rent stabilization, or limiting our rights as a landlord, could adversely affect our operations and revenue. A number of states and municipalities have implemented or are seeking to implement rent control or rent stabilization laws and regulations or take other actions that could limit or delay our ability to raise rents, charge non-rent fees, screen and evict tenants for non-payment of rent or other lease violations. For example, the State of California has statewide rent control for communities older than fifteen years, limiting rent increases to the lesser of 10% or 5% plus local CPI, and the State of New York has rules for rent-controlled and rent-stabilized units that limit the way rent increases are calculated for renewal leases, basing increases solely on rent actually paid and eliminating the ability to increase the renewal rent to a higher “registered rent.” Furthermore, in California the Governor has the ability to enact local or statewide states of emergency which limit our ability to increase new and renewal rents more than 10% over the rent in place on the date such state of emergency was declared, which has impacted some of our California communities. We have seen an increase in state and local governments in our markets implementing, considering or being urged by various constituencies to consider regulations of the types described above. Additionally, the Biden Administration published a white paper entitled the Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights and various federal agencies have engaged in accompanying efforts aimed at increasing fairness in the rental market. Current and future enactments of rent control or rent stabilization laws or other laws regulating rental housing may limit our ability to charge market rents, increase rents, charge non-rent fees, screen and evict tenants or recover increases in our operating expenses and could make it more difficult for us to dispose of properties in certain circumstances. Expenses associated with our investment in these communities, such as debt service, real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance costs, are generally not reduced when circumstances cause a reduction in rental income from the community.

We face risks related to multifamily rental antitrust, regulatory scrutiny and new litigation. Lawsuits, government investigations and proposed legislation relating to antitrust matters in the multifamily rental market are ongoing and may impact the Company, whether or not we are found directly liable for an antitrust violation. For example, a purported class action has been brought by private litigants against RealPage, Inc., a provider of revenue management systems, and numerous multifamily rental companies; while we were originally named as a defendant, the Company was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice from this case after explaining to plaintiffs’ counsel why the Company believed that these cases were without merit as they pertained to the Company. Subsequently, on November 1, 2023, the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia against RealPage, Inc. and 14 owners and/or operators of multifamily housing in the District of Columbia, including the Company, alleging that the defendants violated the District of Columbia Antitrust Act by unlawfully agreeing to use RealPage, Inc. revenue management systems and sharing sensitive data. While the Company intends to vigorously defend against this lawsuit, given the early stage of the District of Columbia’s lawsuit, the Company is unable to predict the outcome or estimate the amount of loss, if any, that may result from the lawsuit. The Company is also aware that governmental investigations regarding antitrust matters in the multifamily industry are ongoing. Municipalities other than the

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District of Columbia or federal agencies may also bring suits against multifamily rental providers. Regardless of whether the Company remains named in the District of Columbia lawsuit or any other lawsuits or becomes the focus of any governmental investigation, the Company may incur substantial costs related to these lawsuits, whether as a defendant or as a third-party witness. As well, settlements by RealPage, Inc. or other defendants in such cases could impact the multifamily industry in ways that have an adverse effect on the Company. In addition, state and federal legislation has been introduced that could regulate the use by multifamily apartment rental companies of third party algorithmic revenue management systems, and if legislation of this type passes, the impact on the Company is difficult to predict. Lawsuits, government investigations and new legislation related to antitrust matters may, among other things, be costly to comply with, result in negative publicity, require significant management time and attention and subject us to remedies or burdensome requirements that adversely affect our business.

Noncompliance with applicable laws in the building and operation of our communities could adversely affect our operations or expose us to liability. We must develop, construct and operate our communities in compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations, some of which may conflict with one another or be subject to limited judicial or regulatory interpretations. These laws and regulations may include zoning laws, building codes, landlord/tenant laws and other laws generally applicable to business operations. Noncompliance with laws could expose us to liability. Lower revenue growth or significant unanticipated expenditures may result from our need to comply with changes in (i) laws imposing remediation requirements or other conditions, or (ii) other governmental rules and regulations or enforcement policies affecting the development, use and operation of our communities, including changes to building codes and fire and life-safety codes.

Short-term leases expose us to the effects of declining market rents. Substantially all of our apartment leases are for a term of one year or less. Because these leases generally permit the residents to leave at the end of the lease term without penalty, our rental revenues are impacted by declines in market rents more quickly than if our leases were for longer terms.

Competition could limit our ability to lease apartment homes or increase or maintain rents. Our apartment communities compete with other apartment operators as well as rental housing alternatives, such as single-family homes for rent and short term furnished offerings such as those available from extended stay hotels or through online listing services. In addition, our residents and prospective residents also consider, as an alternative to renting, the purchase of a new or existing condominium or single-family home. Competitive residential housing could adversely affect our ability to lease apartment homes and to increase or maintain rental rates.

Unfavorable changes in market and economic conditions could adversely affect occupancy, rental rates, operating expenses, and the overall market value of our real estate assets. Local conditions in our regions significantly affect occupancy, rental rates and the operating performance of our communities, and may be adversely affected by the following risks:

•corporate restructurings and/or layoffs, and industry slowdowns;

•an oversupply of, or a reduced demand for, apartment homes;

•a decline in household formation or employment or lack of employment growth;

•the inability or unwillingness of residents to pay rent increases; and

•economic conditions that could cause an increase in our operating expenses, such as increases in property taxes, utilities, compensation of on-site associates and routine maintenance.

Risks related to a pandemic’s impact on multifamily rental housing. The national and global impacts of a pandemic, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may present material uncertainty and risk with respect to our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Moreover, many of the risk factors set forth in this Form 10-K could be interpreted as heightened risks as a result of the impact of a pandemic. Impacts from a pandemic may include the following:

•State, local, and federal entities may impose restrictions, for varying times and to varying degrees, on our ability to enforce residents’ contractual lease obligations, and this may affect our ability to enforce all our remedies (such as pursuing collections and seeking evictions) for the failure to pay rent.

•Consumers whose income has declined or who are working remotely may decide to live in a location other than our markets. Demand from students and demand for corporate apartment homes may be negatively impacted by trends in remote learning and work, and the adoption of new online technologies.

•Various state, local and federal rules may require us, in some jurisdictions or for some properties, to waive late fees and certain other customary fees associated with our apartment rental business. These requirements or practices may result in foregone revenue.

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•Our properties may incur significant costs or losses related to shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders, quarantines, infection, clean-up costs or other related factors.

•Impacts on the general economy and our industry caused by (i) supply chain constraints and (ii) inflation caused by both supply chain constraints and governmental fiscal and monetary policies. Supply chain constraints could cause delays in our construction and redevelopment activity, and inflation could cause our construction and operating costs to increase without a commensurate increase in our rental revenue.

Emergency orders shutting down non-essential businesses, limiting congregations of people, and requiring social distancing may at times disrupt our development and construction activity. To the extent we experience delays in construction, our construction costs may increase and we may not achieve, on the schedule we originally planned, the cash flows that we expect when we begin leasing a completed property. We may also delay the start of construction of additional development communities which, if constructed and leased as originally planned, would have been a source of future additional cash flow.

The same factors as described immediately above may also impact our workforce. A disruption in the normal operations of our workforce, as well as the possibility of illness among our associates or a substantial portion of our workforce, could also adversely affect our operations.

Risks related to commercial leasing operations. Although we are primarily in the multifamily rental business, we also own and lease ancillary commercial space. Gross rental revenue provided by leased commercial space in our portfolio represented 1.5% of our total revenue in 2023. The long term nature of our commercial leases and characteristics of many of our tenants (small, local businesses) may subject us to certain risks. We may not be able to lease new space for rents that are consistent with our projections or at market rates. Also, when leases for our existing commercial space expire, the space may not be relet or the terms of reletting, including the cost of allowances and concessions to tenants, may be less favorable than the current lease terms. Our properties compete with other properties with commercial space. If our commercial tenants experience financial distress or bankruptcy, they may fail to comply with their contractual obligations, seek concessions in order to continue operations or cease their operations, which could adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

Inflation and related volatility in the economy could negatively impact our residents and our results of operations. Inflation accelerated rapidly in 2022, continued at an elevated level in 2023 and may continue at the present level or increase. Inflation and its related impacts, including increased prices for services and goods and higher interest rates and wages, and any policy interventions by the U.S. government, could negatively impact our residents’ ability to pay rents or our results of operations. Substantially all of our apartment leases are for a term of one year or less, which we believe mitigates our exposure to inflation by permitting us to set rents commensurate with inflation (subject to rent regulations to the extent they apply and assuming our current or prospective residents will accept and can pay commensurate increased rents, of which there can be no assurance). However, inflation could outpace any increases in rent and adversely affect us. We may not be able to mitigate the effects of inflation and related impacts, and the duration and extent of any prolonged periods of inflation, and any related adverse effects on our results of operations and financial condition, are unknown at this time. Inflation may also cause increased volatility in financial markets, which could affect our ability to access the capital markets or impact the cost or timing at which we are able to do so.

Inflation may also increase the costs to complete our development projects, including costs of materials, labor and services from third-party contractors and suppliers. Higher construction costs could adversely impact our investments in real estate assets and our expected yields on development projects.

Risks related to our REIT or tax status or reliance on various tax regulations

Failure to qualify as a REIT would cause us to be taxed as a corporation, which would significantly reduce funds available for distribution to stockholders. If we fail to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we will be subject to regular federal corporate income tax on our taxable income. In addition, unless we are entitled to relief under applicable statutory provisions, we would be ineligible to make an election for treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year we lose our qualification. The additional tax liability resulting from the failure to qualify as a REIT would significantly reduce or eliminate the amount of funds available for distribution to our stockholders. Furthermore, we would no longer be required to make distributions to our stockholders. Thus, our failure to qualify as a REIT could also impair our ability to expand our business and raise capital and would adversely affect the value of our common stock.

We believe that we are organized and qualified as a REIT, and we intend to operate in a manner that will allow us to continue to qualify as a REIT. However, we cannot assure you that we are qualified as a REIT, or that we will remain qualified in the future. This is because qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex provisions of the Code

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for which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations and involves the determination of a variety of factual matters and circumstances not entirely within our control. Our qualification as a REIT depends on our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, shareholder ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis. In addition, future legislation, new regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions may significantly change the tax laws or the application of the tax laws with respect to qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes or the federal income tax consequences of such qualification. Additionally, our expanding range of investments (such as investments in mezzanine loans, preferred equity, and technology and environmentally focused venture funds and companies) may add additional REIT compliance challenges, some of which may involve determinations or circumstances that may be beyond our control.

Even if we qualify as a REIT, we will be subject to certain federal, state and local taxes on our income and property and on taxable income that we do not distribute to our stockholders. In addition, we hold certain assets and engage in certain activities through our TRSs that a REIT could not engage in directly. We also use TRSs to hold certain assets that we believe would be subject to the 100% prohibited transaction tax if sold at a gain outside of a TRS or to engage in activities that generate non-qualifying REIT income. Our TRSs are subject to federal income tax as regular corporations.

Legislative or other actions affecting REITs could have a negative effect on us or our stockholders. The rules dealing with federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Changes to the tax laws, with or without retroactive legislation, could adversely affect us or our stockholders. New legislation, Treasury Regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions could significantly and negatively affect our ability to qualify as a REIT, the federal income tax consequences of such qualification, or the federal income tax consequences of an investment in our Company. Also, the law relating to the tax treatment of other entities, or an investment in other entities, could change, making an investment in such other entities more attractive relative to an investment in a REIT.

Our ownership of TRSs is subject to certain restrictions, and we will be required to pay a 100% penalty tax on certain income or deductions if transactions with our TRSs are not conducted on arm’s-length terms. We have established several TRSs. The TRSs must pay federal income tax on their taxable income as regular corporations. While we will attempt to ensure that our dealings with our TRSs do not adversely affect our REIT qualification, we cannot provide assurances that it will successfully achieve that result. Furthermore, we may be subject to a 100% penalty tax, to the extent dealings between us and our TRSs are not deemed to be arm’s-length in nature. We intend that our dealings with our TRSs will be on an arm’s-length basis. No assurances can be given, however, that the IRS will not assert a contrary position.

Failure of one or more of our subsidiaries to qualify as a REIT could adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT. We have owned and may in the future own interests in subsidiaries that have elected (or will elect) to be taxed as REITs under the Code. These subsidiary REITs were or will be subject to the REIT qualification requirements and other limitations that are applicable to us. If any of our subsidiary REITs were to fail to qualify as a REIT, then (i) the subsidiary REIT would become subject to federal income tax, (ii) our ownership of shares in such subsidiary REIT would cease to be a qualifying asset for purposes of the asset tests applicable to REITs, and (iii) it is possible that we could also fail to qualify as a REIT.

The tax imposed on REITs engaging in “prohibited transactions” may limit our ability to engage in transactions which would be treated as sales for federal income tax purposes. We may transfer or otherwise dispose of some of our properties. Under the Code, unless certain exceptions apply, any gain resulting from transfers of properties that we hold as inventory or primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business could be treated as income from a prohibited transaction subject to a 100% penalty tax from the gain on the sale of the property, which could potentially adversely impact our status as a REIT unless we own the property through a TRS. Since we acquire properties for investment purposes, we do not believe that our occasional transfers or disposals of property should be treated as prohibited transactions. However, whether property is held for investment purposes depends on the facts and circumstances surrounding the particular transaction. The IRS may contend that certain of our transfers or disposals of properties are prohibited transactions. If the IRS were to argue successfully that a transfer or disposition of property was a prohibited transaction, then we would be required to pay a 100% penalty tax on any gain allocable to it from the prohibited transaction, and our ability to retain proceeds from real property sales may be jeopardized.

We may face risks in connection with Section 1031 exchanges. We may dispose of real properties in transactions intended to qualify as “like-kind exchanges” under Section 1031 of the Code. If a transaction intended to qualify as a Section 1031 exchange is later determined to be taxable, we may face adverse consequences, and if the laws applicable to such transactions are amended or repealed, we may not be able to dispose of real properties on a tax-deferred basis.

We may choose to pay dividends in our own stock, in which case, stockholders may be required to pay tax in excess of the cash they receive. We may distribute taxable dividends that are payable in part in our stock. Taxable stockholders receiving

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such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as income to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits for federal income tax purposes. As a result, a U.S. stockholder may be required to pay tax with respect to such dividends in excess of the cash dividend received. If a U.S. stockholder sells the stock it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in stock. In addition, the trading price of our stock would experience downward pressure if a significant number of our stockholders sell shares of our stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends.

Risks that may not be insured in full or in part

We are exposed to risks that are either uninsurable, not economically insurable or in excess of our insurance coverage, including risks discussed below. Insurance coverage for various risks can be costly and in limited supply. As a result, we may experience shortages in desired coverage levels if market conditions are such that insurance is not available or the cost of insurance makes it, in our view, economically impractical. Incidents that directly or indirectly damage our communities, both physically and financially, or cause losses that exceed our insurance coverage could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations including increased maintenance, repair, and delays in construction. In addition, we would also continue to be obligated to repay any mortgage indebtedness or other obligations related to the community which could have a material adverse effect on our business and our financial condition and results of operations. The following risks are uninsurable or insurance coverage is limited due to premium rates (See Item 2. “Properties—Insurance and Risk of Uninsured Losses”):

•Earthquake risk. As further described in Item 2. “Properties—Insurance and Risk of Uninsured Losses,” many of our West Coast communities are located in the general vicinity of active earthquake faults. Insurance coverage for earthquakes can be costly and in limited supply.

•Climate and severe or inclement weather risk. Many of our markets, particularly those located in coastal cities, are exposed to risks associated with inclement or severe weather including those arising from climate change such as hurricanes, severe winter storms and coastal flooding.

•Terrorism and other risk. We have significant investments in metropolitan markets such as Metro New York/New Jersey and Washington, D.C., which have in the past been or may in the future be the target of actual or threatened terrorist attacks. We carry commercial general liability insurance, property insurance and terrorism insurance with respect to our communities on terms and in amounts we consider commercially reasonable. There are, however, certain types of losses (such as from acts of war) we do not insure, in full or in part, because they are either uninsurable or we believe the cost of insurance is economically impractical.

We may incur costs related to climate change. We may experience climate change impacts including extreme weather, sea level rise, the effects of declines in available water supplies and changes in precipitation, temperature and wildfire exposure, all of which may result in physical damage to and/or a decrease in demand for properties located in areas affected by these conditions. Should the impact of these conditions be material in nature or occur for lengthy periods of time, our financial condition or results of operations may be adversely affected, and may negatively impact the types and pricing of insurance we are able to procure. In addition, implementation of new or changes in existing federal, state and local regulations based on concerns about climate change could result in increased capital expenditures or operating expenses on our existing properties (for example, requiring retrofitting of existing systems) and our new development properties (for example, to improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and/or improve resistance to inclement weather) without a corresponding increase in revenue, resulting in adverse impacts to our results of operations. Further, laws and regulations at the federal, state and local level requiring climate-related disclosures, including the rules proposed by the SEC and the legislation recently enacted in the state of California, may increase compliance and data collection costs if, and when, such laws and regulations become effective.

We may incur costs due to environmental contamination or non-compliance. Under various public health laws and regulations, we may be required, regardless of knowledge or responsibility, to investigate and remediate the presence or effects of hazardous or toxic substances such as asbestos, lead paint, chemical vapors from soils or groundwater, petroleum product releases, and natural substances such as methane and radon gas. We may be held liable under these laws or common law to a governmental entity or to third parties for property, personal injury or natural resources damages and for investigation and remediation costs incurred as a result of the contamination. These damages and costs may be substantial and may exceed any insurance coverage we have for such events. The presence of these substances, or the failure to properly remediate or contain the contamination, may adversely affect our ability to borrow against, develop, sell or rent the affected property. In addition,

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some environmental laws create or allow a government agency to impose a lien on the contaminated site in favor of the government for damages and costs it incurs as a result of the contamination.

The development, construction and operation of our communities are subject to environmental, health and safety regulations and permitting under various federal, state and local laws, regulations and ordinances, which regulate matters including wetlands protection, storm water runoff and wastewater discharge. These laws and regulations may impose restrictions on how our communities may be developed, and noncompliance with these laws and regulations may subject us to fines and penalties and may subject us to liability in connection with personal injury.

Certain laws and regulations govern the removal, encapsulation or disturbance of asbestos containing materials (“ACMs”) when such materials are in poor condition or in the event of renovation or demolition of a building. These laws and the common law may impose liability for release of ACMs and may allow third parties to seek recovery from owners or operators of real properties for personal injury associated with exposure to ACMs. We are not aware that any ACMs were used in the construction of the communities we developed. ACMs were, however, used in the construction of a number of the communities that we have acquired. Although we implement an operations and maintenance program at each of the communities at which ACMs are detected, we may fail to adequately observe such program or a disturbance of ACMs may occur nevertheless, exposing us to liability. We are aware that some of our communities have lead paint and have implemented an operations and maintenance program at each of those communities.

All of our stabilized operating communities, and all of the communities that we are currently developing, have been subjected to at least a Phase I or similar environmental assessment, which generally does not involve invasive techniques such as soil or groundwater sampling. These assessments, together with subsurface assessments conducted on some properties, have not revealed, and we are not otherwise aware of, any environmental conditions that we believe would have a material adverse effect on our business, assets, financial condition or results of operations. In connection with our ownership, operation and development of communities, we may undertake substantial remedial action in response to the presence of subsurface or other contaminants, including contaminants in soil, groundwater and soil vapor beneath or affecting our buildings. In some cases, an indemnity exists upon which we may be able to rely if environmental liability arises from the contamination or remediation costs exceed estimates. There can be no assurance, however, that all necessary remediation actions have been or will be undertaken at our properties or that we will be indemnified, in full or at all, in the event that environmental liability arises.

Mold growth may occur when excessive moisture accumulates in buildings or on building materials, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or is not addressed over a period of time. Certain molds may lead to adverse health effects, including allergic or other reactions. We cannot provide assurance that mold or excessive moisture will be detected and remediated in a timely manner. If a significant mold problem arises at one of our communities, we could be required to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold from the affected community and could be exposed to other liabilities that may exceed any applicable insurance coverage.

Additionally, we have occasionally been involved in developing, managing, leasing and operating various properties for third parties. Consequently, we may be considered to have been an operator of such properties and, therefore, potentially liable for removal or remediation costs or other potential costs which relate to the release or presence of hazardous or toxic substances or petroleum products at such properties.

We cannot assure you that:

•the environmental assessments described above have identified all potential environmental liabilities;

•no prior owner created any material environmental condition not known to us or the consultants who prepared the assessments;

•no environmental liabilities have developed since the environmental assessments were prepared;

•the condition of land or operations in the vicinity of our communities, such as the presence of underground storage tanks, will not affect the environmental condition of our communities;

•future uses or conditions, including, without limitation, changes in applicable environmental laws and regulations, will not result in the imposition of environmental liability; and

•no environmental liabilities will arise at communities that we have sold for which we may have liability.

General Risk Factors

The ability of our stockholders to control our policies and effect a change of control of our company is limited by certain provisions of our charter and bylaws and by Maryland law. There are provisions in our charter and bylaws that may discourage a third party from making a proposal to acquire us. These provisions include the following:

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Our charter authorizes our Board of Directors to issue up to 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock without stockholder approval and to establish the preferences and rights, including voting rights, of any series of preferred stock issued. This could allow the Board to issue one or more classes or series of preferred stock that could discourage or delay a tender offer or a change in control.

To maintain our qualification as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, not more than 50% in value of our outstanding stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by or for five or fewer individuals at any time during the last half of any taxable year. To maintain this qualification, and/or to address other concerns about concentrations of ownership of our stock, our charter generally prohibits ownership (directly, indirectly by virtue of the attribution provisions of the Code, or beneficially as defined in Section 13 of the Exchange Act) by any single stockholder of more than 9.8% of the issued and outstanding shares of any class or series of our stock. In general, under our charter, pension plans and mutual funds may directly and beneficially own up to 15% of the outstanding shares of any class or series of stock. Under our charter, our Board of Directors may in its sole discretion waive or modify the ownership limit for one or more persons, but it is not required to do so even if such waiver would not affect our qualification as a REIT. These ownership limits may prevent or delay a change in control and, as a result, could adversely affect our stockholders' ability to realize a premium for their shares of common stock.

As a Maryland corporation, we are subject to the provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law which restricts some business combinations and requires compliance with statutory procedures before some mergers and acquisitions may occur, which may delay or prevent offers to acquire us even if they are in our stockholders' best interests. In addition, other provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law permit the Board of Directors to make elections and to take actions without stockholder approval (such as classifying our Board such that the entire Board is not up for re-election annually) that, if made or taken, could have the effect of discouraging or delaying a change in control.

Litigation could adversely affect our business. We are and may in the future become involved in legal proceedings, claims, actions, inquiries and/or investigations in connection with our operations, which may result in defense costs, settlements, fines and/or judgments against us, some of which are not, or cannot be, covered by insurance, including risks related to the multifamily rental antitrust litigation discussed below. Legal proceedings and other claims, if decided adversely to or settled by us, and not covered by insurance, could result in liability material to our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Likewise, regardless of outcome, legal proceedings and other claims may result in substantial costs and expenses, affect the availability or cost of some of our insurance coverage and significantly divert the attention of our management. With respect to any legal proceeding or other claim, there can be no assurance that we will be able to prevail, or achieve a favorable settlement or outcome, or that our insurance and/or any contractual indemnities will be enough to cover all of our defense costs or any resulting liabilities.

Changes in U.S. accounting standards may materially and adversely affect the reporting of our operations. We follow accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). GAAP is established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), an independent body whose standards are recognized by the SEC as authoritative for publicly held companies. The FASB and the SEC create and interpret accounting standards and may change the interpretation and application of these standards that govern the preparation of our financial statements. These changes could have a material impact on our reported consolidated results of operations and financial position.

We rely on information technology in our operations, and any breach, interruption or security failure of that technology, or any non-compliance with applicable laws with respect to the use of that technology, could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition and/or reputation. We rely on information technology, including the internet, to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes, including financial transactions, personally identifiable information (“PII”), and tenant and lease data. Our business requires us and some of our vendors to use and store PII and other confidential and sensitive information of our residents and employees. Privacy and information security laws and regulations for PII continue to evolve and may be inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another. Compliance with all such laws and regulations may increase our operating costs and adversely impact our ability to market our properties and services.

Information security risks have generally increased in recent years due to the rise in new technologies and the increased sophistication and activities of perpetrators of cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks can include third parties gaining access to data using stolen or inferred credentials, computer malware, viruses, spamming, phishing attacks, ransomware, and other deliberate attacks and attempts to gain unauthorized access to our or our vendors’ data or information technology systems. Although our and our vendors' information technology systems are essential to the operation of our business and our ability to perform day-to-day operations, even the most well-protected information, networks, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable because the

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techniques used in such attempted security breaches evolve and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, and in some cases are designed not to be detected and, in fact, may not be detected. Accordingly, we may be unable to implement adequate security barriers or other preventative measures, and thus it is impossible for us to entirely mitigate this risk. These threats, in turn, may lead to increased costs to protect our information systems, detect and respond to threats, and recover from cyber incidents. Our insurance program may not be adequate to cover all losses relating to such events.

There can be no assurance that we will be able to prevent unauthorized access to PII or to our network or business systems in general. Any failure in or breach of our operational or information security systems, or those of our vendors, as a result of cyber-attacks or other security incidents, could materially adversely impact our operations and financial position, including disruption of our operations caused by an inability to access network systems, disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary information (including PII of our residents and/or associates), damage to our reputation, and/or potentially significant legal and/or financial liabilities and penalties.

Various laws and regulations and interpretations thereof, as well as agreements with payment processors, require, or may require, us to comply with rules related to our business and our websites used by residents and prospective residents, including requirements related to accessibility of our websites to persons with disabilities and our handling and use of data, including personal data, that we collect. We could face liabilities for failure to comply with these requirements. Privacy laws and regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (“CCPA”), related regulations and other U.S. state privacy laws, are evolving and may be subject to differing interpretations. We could incur costs to comply with stricter and more complex data privacy, data collection and information security laws and standards.

Any material weaknesses identified in our internal control over financial reporting could have an impact on our Company. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to evaluate and report on our internal control over financial reporting. One or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting could result in misstatements of our results of operations and related restatements, a decline in the price/value of our securities, or otherwise materially adversely affect our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

Our success depends on key personnel whose continued service is not guaranteed. Our success depends in part on our ability to attract and retain the services of executive officers and other personnel. There is substantial competition for qualified personnel in the real estate industry, and the loss of our key personnel could adversely affect us.

ITEM 1B.    UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 1C.    CYBERSECURITY

Cybersecurity Risk Management, Strategy and Governance

We have implemented and maintain a risk management framework designed to identify, assess, and mitigate risks from cybersecurity threats. We assess our cybersecurity program (“CSP”), as part of our enterprise risk management program, against the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Cybersecurity Framework (“NIST CSF”) and also use as a model the Center for Internet Security (“CIS”) control framework’s Implementation Group 2 (“IG2”). We perform annual assessments against NIST CSF benchmarks and focus on continuous improvement over those criteria. We use a list of factors based on business risk tolerance and external compliance requirements to determine if a business asset, data, system, process, or service provider should be included within the scope of the CSP. Prior to contracting with an outside vendor that hosts our data, such as Company information, or PII of our associates or residents, or that integrates with our systems, our policy is to conduct a cybersecurity risk assessment, which includes, as appropriate, a due diligence questionnaire completed by the vendor, a System and Organization Controls 1 (“SOC1”) report from major vendors and a review of the vendor’s scope of access to our IT systems and data.

We also utilize third-party service providers to enhance our CSP, including engaging them annually to assess our CSP against the NIST CSF. We use one or more third-party managed security solution providers, who provide us with threat intelligence information and managed threat detection and response capabilities. We have also engaged a third party to assist with associate cybersecurity training. Additionally, we have engaged outside breach response legal counsel to assist the Company with cybersecurity counseling and incident response.

Although we have not experienced any material cybersecurity incidents, a future incident could materially affect us. We rely on information technology to process, transmit and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business

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processes, including financial transactions, PII, and resident and lease data. Our business requires us and some of our vendors, to use and store PII and other confidential and sensitive information of our residents and associates. Any failure in or breach of our operational or information security systems or those of our vendors as a result of cyber-attacks or other security incidents, could materially adversely impact our operations and financial position, including disruption of our operations caused by an inability to access network systems, disclosure or misuse of confidential or proprietary information (including PII of our residents and/or associates), damage to our reputation, and/or potentially significant legal and/or financial liabilities and penalties.

You should carefully review Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of this Form 10-K for a discussion of the risks to the Company related to cybersecurity.

Our cybersecurity team is headed by our Senior Director of Cybersecurity, who has over 15 years of experience with IT and cybersecurity. The cybersecurity team reports to our Senior Vice President-Information Technology. The Senior Director of Cybersecurity and the Senior Vice President-Information Technology are part of, and work with, a management Cybersecurity Steering Committee (“CSC”), which meets regularly. The CSC works to ensure strategic alignment of the CSP with our business objectives and priorities. The CSC is chaired by the Senior Director of Cybersecurity and is composed of our Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and senior members of our finance, legal, IT, risk management and internal audit teams. The Company has designated an incident response team and defined criteria to guide responses to cybersecurity incidents.

The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors provides Board-level oversight of risks from cybersecurity threats. In addition to providing periodic reports, at least annually the Senior Director of Cybersecurity and the Senior Vice President-Information Technology meet with the Audit Committee regarding cybersecurity risks and assessments and related Company policies and initiatives. The Audit Committee and management have adopted a policy that categorizes cybersecurity incidents and sets out incident escalation procedures to the full Board of Directors.

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ITEM 2.    PROPERTIES

Our real estate investments consist primarily of current operating apartment communities (“Current Communities”), consolidated and unconsolidated communities in various stages of development (“Development” communities and “Unconsolidated Development” communities) and Development Rights (as defined below). Our Current Communities are further classified as Same Store communities, Other Stabilized communities, Redevelopment communities and Unconsolidated communities. While we generally establish the classification of communities on an annual basis, we update the classification of communities during the calendar year to the extent that our plans with regard to the disposition or redevelopment of a community change. The following is a description of each category:

Current Communities are categorized as Same Store, Other Stabilized, Redevelopment or Unconsolidated according to the following attributes:

•Same Store is composed of consolidated communities where a comparison of operating results from the prior year to the current year is meaningful as these communities were owned and had stabilized occupancy as of the beginning of the respective prior year period. For the year ended December 31, 2023, Same Store communities are consolidated for financial reporting purposes, had stabilized occupancy as of January 1, 2022, did not conduct substantial redevelopment activities and are not held for sale as of December 31, 2023. A community is considered to have stabilized occupancy at the earlier of (i) attainment of 90% physical occupancy or (ii) the one-year anniversary of completion of development or redevelopment.

•Other Stabilized is composed of completed consolidated communities that we own and that are not Same Store but which have stabilized occupancy, as defined above, as of January 1, 2023, or which were acquired subsequent to January 1, 2022. Other Stabilized excludes communities that are conducting or conducted substantial redevelopment activities within the current year, as defined below.

•Redevelopment is composed of consolidated communities where substantial redevelopment occurred or is in progress. Redevelopment is considered substantial when (i) capital invested is expected to exceed the lesser of $5,000,000 or 10% of the community's pre-redevelopment basis and (ii) physical occupancy is below or is expected to be below 90% during, or as a result of, the redevelopment activity.

•Unconsolidated is composed of communities that we have an indirect ownership interest in through our investment interest in an unconsolidated joint venture.

Development is composed of consolidated communities that are either currently under construction, were under construction and were completed during the current year or where construction has been complete for less than one year and that do not have stabilized occupancy. These communities may be partially or fully complete and operating.

Unconsolidated Development is composed of communities that are either currently under construction, or were under construction and were completed during the current year, in which we have an indirect ownership interest through our investment interest in an unconsolidated joint venture. These communities may be partially or fully complete and operating.

Development Rights are development opportunities in the early phase of the development process where we either have an option to acquire land or enter into a leasehold interest, where we are the buyer under a long-term conditional contract to purchase land, where we control the land through a ground lease or own land to develop a new community, or where we are the designated developer in a public-private partnership. We capitalize related pre-development costs incurred in pursuit of new developments for which we currently believe future development is probable.

We currently lease our corporate headquarters located in Arlington, Virginia, as well as our other regional and administrative offices, under operating leases.

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As of December 31, 2023, communities that we owned or held a direct or indirect interest in were classified as follows:

	Number of communities	Number of apartment homes
Current Communities
Same Store:
New England	39	9,577
Metro NY/NJ	41	12,766
Mid-Atlantic	39	13,301
Southeast Florida	7	2,187
Denver, CO	4	1,086
Pacific Northwest	20	5,474
Northern California	40	12,133
Southern California	58	17,281
Other Expansion Regions	4	925
Total Same Store	252	74,730
Other Stabilized:
New England	1	350
Metro NY/NJ	—	—
Mid-Atlantic	4	1,895
Southeast Florida	1	650
Denver, CO	2	453
Pacific Northwest	—	—
Northern California	—	—
Southern California	1	653
Other Expansion Regions	5	1,587
Total Other Stabilized	14	5,588
Redevelopment	—	—
Unconsolidated	8	2,247
Total Current	274	82,565
Development	24	7,629
Unconsolidated Development	1	475
Total Communities	299	90,669
Development Rights	30	10,801

Our holdings under each of the above categories are discussed on the following pages.

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We generally establish the composition of our Same Store communities portfolio annually. Changes in the Same Store communities portfolios for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 were as follows:

	Number of communities
Same Store communities as of December 31, 2020	232
Communities added	15
Communities removed (1)
Redevelopment communities	—
Disposed communities	(9)
Other Stabilized	(1)
Same Store communities as of December 31, 2021	237
Communities added	8
Communities removed (1)
Redevelopment communities	(1)
Disposed communities	(9)
Same Store communities as of December 31, 2022	235
Communities added	21
Communities removed (1)
Redevelopment communities	—
Disposed communities	(4)
Same Store communities as of December 31, 2023	252

_________________________________

(1)    Communities were removed from our Same Store portfolio if we believed that planned activity for the upcoming year would result in that community's expected operations not being comparable to the prior year, including (i) when we intended to undertake a significant capital renovation, such that the community was classified as a Redevelopment community; (ii) when we intended to dispose of a community; or (iii) when a significant casualty loss occurred.

Current Communities

Our Current Communities include garden-style apartment communities consisting of multi-story buildings of stacked flats and/or townhome apartments in landscaped settings, as well as mid and high rise apartment communities consisting of larger elevator-served buildings of four or more stories, frequently with structured parking. As of January 31, 2024, our Current Communities consisted of the following:

	Number of communities	Number of apartment homes
Garden-style	131	41,026
Mid-rise	120	34,187
High-rise	28	8,442
Total Current Communities	279	83,655

As discussed in Item 1. “Business,” we operate under four core brands: Avalon, AVA, eaves by Avalon and Kanso. We believe that this branding differentiation allows us to target our product offerings to multiple customer groups and submarkets within our existing geographic footprint.

We also have an extensive and ongoing maintenance program to continually maintain and enhance our communities and apartment homes. The aesthetic appeal of our communities, and a service-oriented property management team that is focused on the specific needs of residents, enhances market appeal. We believe our mission of “Creating a Better Way to Live” helps us achieve higher rental rates and occupancy levels while minimizing resident turnover and operating expenses.

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Our Current Communities are located in the following geographic markets:

	Number of communities at		Number of apartment homes at		Percentage of total apartment homes at
	1/31/2023	1/31/2024	1/31/2023	1/31/2024	1/31/2023		1/31/2024
New England	41	42	10,221	10,328	12.4	%	12.4	%
Metro NY/NJ	47	49	14,296	14,756	17.4	%	17.6	%
New York City, NY	14	14	5,089	5,089	6.2	%	6.1	%
New York Suburban	12	13	3,792	3,878	4.6	%	4.6	%
New Jersey	21	22	5,415	5,789	6.6	%	6.9	%
Mid-Atlantic	45	44	15,770	15,501	19.2	%	18.5	%
Washington Metro	39	36	13,808	12,784	16.8	%	15.3	%
Baltimore, MD	6	8	1,962	2,717	2.4	%	3.2	%
Southeast Florida	8	8	2,837	2,837	3.4	%	3.4	%
Denver, Colorado	6	6	1,539	1,539	1.9	%	1.8	%
Pacific Northwest	21	21	5,802	5,802	7.0	%	6.9	%
Northern California	42	41	12,641	12,446	15.3	%	14.9	%
San Jose, CA	12	12	4,723	4,723	5.7	%	5.7	%
Oakland-East Bay, CA	15	15	4,338	4,338	5.3	%	5.2	%
San Francisco, CA	15	14	3,580	3,385	4.3	%	4.0	%
Southern California	59	59	17,924	17,934	21.7	%	21.4	%
Los Angeles, CA	39	39	12,133	12,143	14.7	%	14.5	%
Orange County, CA	13	13	4,024	4,024	4.9	%	4.8	%
San Diego, CA	7	7	1,767	1,767	2.1	%	2.1	%
Other Expansion Regions	6	9	1,381	2,512	1.7	%	3.1	%
North Carolina	4	5	760	963	0.9	%	1.2	%
Texas	2	4	621	1,549	0.8	%	1.9	%
	275	279	82,411	83,655	100.0	%	100.0	%

We manage and operate substantially all of our Current Communities. During the year ended December 31, 2023, we completed construction of six communities containing 1,393 apartment homes, acquired three communities containing 1,131 apartment homes and sold four operating communities containing 987 apartment homes.

Of the Current Communities, as of January 31, 2024, we owned (directly or through wholly-owned subsidiaries):

•270 operating communities, including 263 with a full fee simple or absolute ownership interest, and seven that are on land subject to a land lease. The land leases have various expiration dates from July 2046 to April 2106, and three of the land leases are used to support tax advantaged structures that ultimately allow us to purchase the land upon lease expiration.

•A membership interest in five limited liability companies. One of the ventures, the NYTA MF Investors LLC, through subsidiaries owns a fee simple interest in three operating communities and a leasehold interest in two additional operating communities. The other four ventures each hold a fee simple interest in an operating community, one of which is consolidated for financial reporting purposes.

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In addition to our Current Communities, we also hold, directly or through wholly-owned subsidiaries, a full fee simple ownership interest in our wholly-owned Development Communities and a membership interest in one limited liability company that holds a fee simple interest in an Unconsolidated Development Community.

Development Communities

As of December 31, 2023, we owned or held a direct interest in 17 Development Communities under construction. We expect these Development Communities, when completed, to add a total of 6,064 apartment homes and 59,000 square feet of commercial space to our portfolio for a total capitalized cost, including land acquisition costs, of approximately $2,491,000,000. We cannot assure you that we will meet our schedule for construction completion or that we will meet our budgeted costs, either individually, or in the aggregate. You should carefully review Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for a discussion of the risks associated with development activity and our discussion under Item 7. “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” (including the factors identified under “Forward-Looking Statements”) for further discussion of development activity.

The following table presents a summary of the Development Communities.

		Number of apartment homes	Projected total capitalized cost (1) ($ millions)		Construction start	Initial projected or actual occupancy	Estimated completion	Estimated stabilized operations (2)
1.	Avalon Amityville Amityville, NY	338	$	134	Q2 2021	Q3 2023	Q2 2024	Q4 2024
2.	Avalon Bothell Commons I Bothell, WA	467	236		Q2 2021	Q3 2023	Q2 2024	Q1 2025
3.	Avalon Westminster Promenade Westminster, CO	312	112		Q3 2021	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q2 2025
4.	Avalon West Dublin Dublin, CA	499	267		Q3 2021	Q4 2023	Q4 2024	Q2 2025
5.	Avalon Montville Montville, NJ	349	127		Q4 2021	Q4 2023	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
6.	Avalon Redmond Campus (3) Redmond, WA	214	89		Q4 2021	Q1 2024	Q2 2024	Q4 2024
7.	Avalon Governor's Park Denver, CO	304	135		Q1 2022	Q3 2024	Q4 2024	Q2 2025
8.	Avalon West Windsor (4) West Windsor, NJ	535	201		Q2 2022	Q2 2025	Q3 2026	Q1 2027
9.	Avalon Durham (5) Durham, NC	336	125		Q2 2022	Q2 2024	Q3 2024	Q2 2025
10.	Avalon Annapolis Annapolis, MD	508	200		Q3 2022	Q3 2024	Q3 2025	Q2 2026
11.	Kanso Milford Milford, MA	162	65		Q4 2022	Q1 2024	Q3 2024	Q1 2025
12.	Avalon Lake Norman (5) Mooresville, NC	345	101		Q1 2023	Q1 2025	Q1 2026	Q3 2026
13.	Avalon Hunt Valley West Hunt Valley, MD	322	109		Q2 2023	Q1 2025	Q1 2026	Q3 2026
14.	Avalon South Miami (4) South Miami, FL	290	186		Q3 2023	Q3 2025	Q1 2026	Q3 2026
15.	Avalon Princeton Shopping Center Princeton, NJ	200	82		Q3 2023	Q1 2025	Q2 2025	Q4 2025
16.	Avalon Wayne Wayne, NJ	473	174		Q4 2023	Q2 2025	Q2 2026	Q4 2026
17.	Avalon Parsippany Parsippany, NJ	410	148		Q4 2023	Q3 2025	Q2 2026	Q3 2026
	Total	6,064	$	2,491

_________________________________

(1)Projected total capitalized cost includes all capitalized costs projected to be or actually incurred to develop the respective Development Community, determined in accordance with GAAP, including land acquisition costs, construction costs, real estate taxes, capitalized interest and loan fees, permits, professional fees, allocated development overhead and other regulatory fees, as well as costs incurred for first generation commercial tenants such as tenant improvements and leasing commissions.

(2)Stabilized operations is defined as the earlier of (i) attainment of 90% or greater physical occupancy or (ii) the one-year anniversary of completion of development.

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(3)Avalon Redmond Campus is a densification of the existing eaves Redmond Campus wholly-owned community, replacing 48 existing older apartment homes that were demolished.

(4)Development Communities containing at least 10,000 square feet of commercial space include Avalon West Windsor (19,000 square feet) and Avalon South Miami (32,000 square feet).

(5)Communities being developed through our Developer Funding Program (“DFP”). The DFP utilizes third-party multifamily developers to source and construct communities which we own and operate.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, we completed the development of the following wholly-owned communities:

		Number of apartment homes	Total capitalized  cost (1) ($ millions)		Approximate rentable area (sq. ft.)	Total capitalized cost per sq. ft.		Quarter of completion
1.	Avalon Harrison (2) Harrison, NY	143	$	94	171,036	$	550	Q2 2023
2.	Avalon Brighton Boston, MA	180	90		167,230	$	538	Q2 2023
3.	Avalon Somerville Station Somerville, NJ	374	121		368,396	$	328	Q3 2023
4.	Avalon North Andover North Andover, MA	221	77		216,545	$	356	Q3 2023
5.	Avalon Merrick Park (3) Miami, FL	254	104		218,742	$	475	Q3 2023
6.	Avalon Princeton Circle Princeton, NJ	221	89		253,462	$	351	Q4 2023
	Total	1,393	$	575

____________________________________

(1)Total capitalized cost is as of December 31, 2023. We generally anticipate incurring additional costs associated with these communities that are customary for new developments.

(2)Avalon Harrison contains 27,000 square feet of commercial space.

(3)Community was developed through our DFP.

Unconsolidated Development Communities